The State of Rhode Island is among those that are not seeing any relief from the current economic recession, with the state continuing to lose more jobs and Rhode Island unemployment continuing to increase.

During June, Rhode Island saw its unemployment rate increase from 12.1 percent to 12.4 percent, which is higher than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.5 percent. The state has not seen its unemployment rate decrease since January 2007, when it went from 4.9 percent to 4.8 percent.

Rhode Island had a total non-farm employment of 462,900 workers during June, according to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 463,800 workers during May and a 4.1 percent decrease from last year.

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Good news is around the corner for those without a job in Rhode Island.

The maximum amount of money that the State of Rhode Island allows people to collect in unemployment benefits each week is about to increase, according to the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training.

It was recently announced that the maximum amount for someone without dependents will increase by $18 per week, or 3.4 percent, from $528 to $546. The maximum amount for someone with five or more dependents will increase by $22 per week, or 3.3 percent, from $660 to $682.

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